Artist: Tayo
Title: Beatz & Bobz Volume Three
Label: Functional Records
By: Hugo | 6 October 2004
Tracklist:

1. Smith & Mighty - Down In Rwanda
2. Mykal Rose - No Burial (Rob Smith Mix)
3. Tayo Meets Precision Cuts Downtown - Breakbeat Girl
4. Romantica - Romantica
5. Care In The Community - Badness Cant Work
6. Tayo Meets Acid Rockers Uptown - Shorty The Pimp
7. Breakneck - Uplink
8. Freq Nasty - Come Let Me Know (Acapella)
9. Aquasky - War (Instrumental)
10. Backdraft - Labrat (VIP Mix)
11. Ed 209 - Infectious
12. Uncouth Youth - Malaga Airport
13. Tayo Meets Acid Rockers Uptown - Bloodline Dub
14. Jean Jacques Smoothie - Keep It Moving (Ben & Lex Mix)

Tayo "Beatz & Bobz Volume Three"

It seems like no time at all since Exeter's finest label Functional Breaks released Beatz & Bobz Vol.2, a superb compilation that is still an ever present selection on any serious party starter's cd player. It was always going to be a tough job surpassing Will White's hedonistic selection, and the Functional Breaks posse have wisely sidestepped the issue by taking off down the dub infused, ragga vocalised, dancehall beat laden, harder noisy breaks route, introducing a whole new vibe to the party.

This time round, Mob Records label manager, Kiss 100 radio show ('Dread At The Controls') presenter , producer, and all round super versatile DJ Tayo, has been drafted in to take things to the next level. It's a rough ride through some serious sonic wizardry, highlighting some of the most credible names on the darker side of breaks, and some exclusive pre-release tracks.

At the outset it's strictly early doors dub vibes, opening with a bit of a history lesson in Smith & Mighty's consciousness raising 'Down In Rwanda' from 1995. Ahead of it's time, and a timeless start, that drifts into the head nodding groove of Mykal Rose, before momentarily holding back and launching into the pulse raising 'Breakbeat Girl' by Tayo and production cohorts Acid Rockers. From here on in, it's a rollercoaster ride with more peaks and troughs than your average heart monitor, as Tayo expertly guides the vibes onwards and upwards. Perfect mid-set action from the man who knows his dub, nothing too outstanding as the tracks flow into each other without many memorable highlights, but at the same time Tayo exhibits a balance and vision that draws on a deep knowledge of his chosen genre.

By the time Backdraft launch their exclusive reworking of 'Labrat' the atmosphere has taken on a distinct rave influence. It's a smoke and strobe overload par excellence that really takes the mix into overdrive. Followed by the downright dirty synth sounds of Ed 209's 'Infectious', which is surely a 'Flight Of The Bumblebee' for the techno generation? A classic(al) moment , with some of the finest energetic drum programming going. Unfortunately the flow is somewhat lost in the mix into Uncouth Youth, a dip that makes the bleeping and hoovering 'Malaga Airport' sound less effective than it should (as it's a superb track), until the energy starts to flow again as the vocal brings the focus back. As Tayo lines up the mix finale, with his own 'Bloodline Dub', the vibe is well and truly back on track, with the Ben & Lex Mix of 'Keep It Moving' bringing the album to a stylish close.

Tayo has delivered a quality selection, and produced a quality mix that acts as one of the best introductions to the whole dub infused breaks sub genre that he champions. Perhaps, not as entertaining as Will White's previous volume in this excellent series, but nevertheless a mix that everyone should investigate to be fully educated.